The Human Division #9: The Observers

John Scalzi

Mar 2013 · Human Division Series Book 9 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

The ninth episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War. Beginning on January 15, 2013, a new episode of The Human Division will appear in e-book form every Tuesday.

In an effort to improve relations with the Earth, the Colonial Union has invited a contingent of diplomats from that planet to observe Ambassador Abumwe negotiate a trade deal with an alien species. Then something very bad happens to one of the Earthings, and with that, the relationship between humanity's two factions is on the cusp of disruption once more. It's a race to find out what really happened, and who is to blame.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

A nice little whodunit this time. And best of all, it included a Jim Henson reference. The ending almost felt a little Scooby Doo-ish, but it pleasantly surprised me by veering away from that path at the last second.

Even though it feels a bit like a James Bond flick where conveniently every piece of esoteric tech that is needed for the mission is handed miraculously at the right moment, the story is solid, and the exchanges over whiskey were hilarious.

Someone or some group is dedicated very fanatically to blocking any alliance between Earth and the Colonial Union. There is very active spying and sabotage effort under way to drive a wedge between Earth and the CU. Fascinating story of political intrigue!

About the author

JOHN SCALZI is the author of several SF novels including the bestselling Old Man's War sequence, comprising Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, and the New York Times bestselling The Last Colony. He is a winner of science fiction's John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and he won the Hugo Award for Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded, a collection of essays from his popular blog Whatever. His latest novel, Fuzzy Nation, hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week on sale. He lives in Ohio with his wife and daughter.